Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash
Resumes are tricky!
Too short, and you look unqualified.
Too long or wordy, and no one reads it.
I’ve rewritten mine so many times that I don’t even know if it’s good anymore.
So this time I decided to hand the job to AI. I gave ChatGPT my resume and said:
“Make this better.”
Here’s what it did (and whether I’d actually use it to apply for jobs).
The AI Resume Makeover
Surprisingly, ChatGPT didn’t only fix my typos. It also:
- Reorganized my sections so the most relevant stuff came first.
- Added stronger action verbs like “spearheaded” instead of “helped with.”
- Condensed long bullet points into sharper one-liners.
- Stuffed in a few keywords that recruiters and applicant tracking systems love.
At first glance, it looked way more professional. Almost like I’d hired a career coach.
My First Reaction
On one hand, I was impressed.
It looked polished, confident, and keyword-friendly.
On the other hand, some of it felt… not me.
The language was a little over-the-top. Like I was trying to sound like a Fortune 500 executive when I’ve really just worked a mix of part-time jobs, projects, and internships.
I think this was an expected risk to take when testing this out however.
Putting It to the Test
I shared both versions with a couple of friends. The feedback?
- Original resume: “Clear, but kind of plain.”
- AI resume: “Looks stronger, but maybe too corporate for your actual experience.”
That pretty much summed up my feelings too.
What I Learned
- AI is great for structure. It made my resume easier to skim and highlighted the right things.
- Buzzwords aren’t everything. Too much jargon made it sound fake.
- Editing is key. The sweet spot was somewhere between my original and ChatGPT’s rewrite.
Final Verdict
Would I submit the AI version as-is?
Probably not.
But would I use ChatGPT as a resume editor?
Absolutely!
It’s like having a second pair of eyes that knows all the tricks recruiters look for.
At the end of the day, the best resume is the one that sounds like you…just the most polished version of you. And that’s where AI can actually help.